title: Quality of life impairment associated with body dissatisfaction in a general population sample of women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In order to elucidate the individual and community health burden of body dissatisfaction (BD), we examined impairment in quality of life associated with BD in a large, general population sample of women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-report measures of BD, health-related quality of life (SF-12 Physical and Mental Component Summary scales) and subjective quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF Psychological Functioning and Social Relationships subscales) were completed by 5,255 Australian women aged 18 to 42 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most participants (86.9%) reported some level of dissatisfaction with their weight or shape and more than one third (39.4%) reported moderate to marked dissatisfaction. Higher levels of BD were associated with poorer quality of life for all items of both quality of life measures, the degree of impairment being proportional to the degree of BD. Associations were strongest for items tapping mental health and psychosocial functioning, although greater BD was associated with substantially increased risk of impairment in certain aspects of physical health even when controlling for body weight. Post-hoc analysis indicated that the observed associations between BD and quality of life impairment were not accounted for by an association between BD and eating disorder symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In women, BD is associated with marked impairment in aspects of quality of life relating to mental health and psycho-social functioning and at least some aspects of physical health, independent of its association with body weight and eating disorder symptoms. Greater attention may need to be given to BD as a public health problem. The fact that BD is "normative" should not be taken to infer that it is benign.
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia. Jonathan.Mond@anu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mond
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mitchison
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Latner
authors.forename: Phillipa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hay
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rodgers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D020958:Australian Capital Territory; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult